North Korea agrees to military talks, sending Olympic squad to South

SEOUL: North Korea on Tuesday accepted Seoul's proposal to hold military talks to reduce tensions and agreed to send a delegation to next month's Winter Olympics in the South, in the most significant thaw in relations between the neighbouring states in years. 

Delegates from the two nations met face to face for the first time in more than two years, at the border village of Panmunjom -- known as "truce village" -- in the Korean peninsula's heavily fortified demilitarised zone.Both sides also agreed to activate cooperation and exchanges through diverse levels of talks, Yonhap news agency reported. 

Pyongyang said earlier in the day that it will send a delegation of high-ranking officials and others, including athletes, cheering and performing arts squads, taekwondo demonstration teams and journalists, to the games. 

The officials from both sides will hold working-level talks to further discuss details of the North's participation. 

The two Koreas also decided to hold military talks to discuss ways to reduce border tensions. Seoul proposed such a meeting in July last year. "We expressed the need to promptly resume dialogue for peace settlement, including denuclearisation, and based on the mutual respect (the two Koreas) cooperate and stop activities that would raise tensions on the Korean peninsula," said Seoul's Unification Vice Minister Chun Hae-sung. 

A military hotline between Pyongyang and Seoul, suspended for nearly two years, was also reinstated, the agency reported. 

The North notified the South that it reconnected the hotline on the west coast earlier in the day, according to a South Korean government official. The line will be operating normally starting 8 a.m. on Wednesday. 

Pyongyang already restored the border hotline with Seoul last week. 

But the two countries were not on the same page on all fronts. North Korea's chief negotiator, Ri Son Gwon, expressed strong discontent over the mention of denuclearisation in context of military talks. He complained that Chun had presented the hotline development as a result of the latest discussions. Ri said that had already been agreed upon on Wednesday last week. 

Also, South Korea's proposal to hold a Red Cross meeting for reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War around the Lunar New Year's holiday was not included in a joint press statement. 

The meeting happened after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un extended a rare offer of rapprochement to Seoul in his New Year's Day message. He expressed a willingness to send a delegation to the PyeongChang Olympics and said his country was open for dialogue. 

North Korea accepted Seoul's dialogue offer on Friday after the South and the US agreed to postpone their military drills until after the Olympics. It also reopened a long-disconnected border hotline. 

The talks came as Pyongyang is under tough international sanctions over its nuclear and missile provocations.It conducted its sixth nuclear test and fired three intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) last year. 

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Breathtaking photos! Snow blankets Sahara Desert for the third time in 40 years

Jan 09, 2018, 05.01 PM IST

Rare view: Snow blankets Sahara Desert

Up to 16 inches of snow has fallen on a town in the Sahara desert after a freak winter storm hit the area.

In pic: View of snow in the Sahara, Ain Sefra, Algeria.

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Unexpected flurry

The unexpected flurry marked the third time in 37 years that the town of Ain Sefra in Algeria has seen snow cover the red sand dunes of the desert.

Image: twitter.com/Discover_DZ

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Ain Sefra: Gateway to the Sahara

The town of Ain Sefra in Algeria is known as the gateway to the Sahara—the hottest desert in the world.

Image: twitter.com/Discover_DZ

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Snow-covered slope

The typical red sand dunes which stretch out as far as the eye can see were covered in a blanket of white.

In pic: A man looks at at a snow-covered slope in the Sahara, Ain Sefra, Algeria.

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Red sand dunes turn white

While the town itself only saw an inch or two, the sand dunes on its outskirts took a dumping.

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Deeper snowfall

The snowfall which hit recently is much deeper than the fleeting shower little more than a year ago.

Image: twitter.com/Discover_DZ/

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Snowfall extremely rare

Ain Sefra is at a considerable height and snowfall here is extremely rare.

Image: Karim Bouchetata/Geoff Robinson

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Reason of snowfall

According to meteorological experts, the most recent snowfall was a result of high pressure in Europe pulling in cold air southwards into north Africa.

Image: Karim Bouchetata/Geoff Robinson

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Earlier snowfalls

Snowfall was also spotted in 2016 and 2017.

Image: Karim Bouchetata/Geoff Robinson

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Global warming

The Sahara Desert covers most of Northern Africa and it has gone through shifts in temperature and moisture over the past few hundred thousand years.

Image: Karim Bouchetata/Geoff Robinson

Arrested Jet Airways crew part of global hawala racket

PTI|

Jan 09, 2018, 06.47 PM IST

NEW DELHI: A woman flight attendant of Jet AirwaysBSE -3.26 % has been arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) for allegedly trying to smuggle out forex worth more than Rs 3 crore, with the agency today saying that the accused was part of a major global hawala syndicate. 

The DRI officials intercepted the woman when she was on a flight to Hong Kong yesterday, the agency said in a statement. 

"During examination of her checked in and hand baggage, USD 4,80,200 wrapped in aluminium foil having a market value of Rs 3.25 crore, has been recovered," it said. 

During interrogation, it came to light that the woman was a carrier of a major international hawala syndicate and has carried foreign currencies many times for a Delhi-based hawala operator, it said. 

During interrogation, it came to light that the woman was a carrier of a major international hawala syndicate and has carried foreign currencies many times for a Delhi-based hawala operator, it said. 

The operator, identified as Amit Malhotra, is a resident of Vivek Vihar area in Delhi, a senior DRI official said. 

He said Malhotra used crew members for smuggling forex. "Malhotra would collect money from some bullion dealers in Delhi and send it via some air hostess to select foreign destinations. The money was being used for purchasing gold abroad. The gold would then be sent to India illegally," the official said. 

Malhotra had befriended the Jet Airways crew six months ago during a flight to India, he said. 

The DRI suspected the role of some other crew members of Jet Airways in smuggling out forex, the official said. A Delhi court sent the two to two-day judicial custody. 

The DRI has recovered Rs 3.3 lakh in cash, and foreign currencies of different countries worth USD 2,500, besides several incriminating materials from Malhtora, he said. 

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Journo exposing Aadhaar leak merits award, not probe: Edward Snowden

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LONDON: American whistleblower Edward Snowden today said the Indian journalist, whose report on alleged Aadhaar data breach has led to lodging of an FIR, merits an award and not a government probe for the work. 

Snowden, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee who blew the lid off US surveillance on phone and internet communications, also said the Indian government should reform its policy to safeguard privacy of its citizens. 

"The journalists exposing the #Aadhaar breach deserve an award, not an investigation. If the government were truly concerned for justice, they would be reforming the policies that destroyed the privacy of a billion Indians. Want to arrest those responsible? They are called @UIDAI," Snowden posted on Twitter. 

Aadhaar is a 12 digit unique-identity number issued to all Indian residents based on their biometric and demographic data. The data is collected by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) a statutory authority. 

The Delhi Police has registered an "open-ended" First Information Report (FIR) on a complaint from UIDAI over the report on alleged data breach. 

"It is the natural tendency of government to desire perfect records of private lives. History shows that no matter the laws, the result is abuse," Snowden, 34, living in asylum in Russia since 2013, tweeted in context of the Aadhaar issue. 

The police probe in the Aadhaar data breach story had attracted strong criticism from various media organisations and bodies, including The Editors Guild of India which sought withdrawal of the case. 

The Indian government yesterday said the FIR was filed against "unknown" accused and stressed that it was committed to "freedom of press" as well as to "maintaining security & sanctity of #Aadhaar". 

Information and Technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had  tweeted that the FIR was "against unknown". 

The UIDAI also said that it was committed to the freedom of the press and will approach the newspaper and its reporter for cooperation in the investigation of alleged data breach. 

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GOOD NEWS :-Donald Trump drops H-1B visa plan that could get 750,000 Indians deported

WASHINGTON: In a relief for Indian techies, US authorities today said that the Trump administration is not considering any proposal that would force H-1B visa holders to leave the country. 

The announcement by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) came days after reports emerged that the Trump administration was considering tightening H-1B visa rules that could lead to deportation of 7,50,000 Indians. 

The reports had said it was mulling ending extensions for H-1B holders. 

The USCIS "is not considering a regulatory change that would force H-1B visa holders to leave the United States by changing interpretation of Section 104 C of the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act (AC21) statute that states that USCIS may grant the extensions," an official said. 

This provides for H-1B extensions beyond the 6 year limit. 

"Even if it were, such a change would not likely result in these H-1B visa holders having to leave the United States because employers could request extensions in one-year increments under section 106(a)-(b) of AC21 instead," Jonathan Withington, Chief of Media Relations at the USCIS, said in a statement. 

"The agency is considering a number of policy and regulatory changes to carry out the President's Buy American, Hire American Executive Order, including a thorough review of employment based visa programmes," Withington said. 

The statement comes after last week's news report by US- based news agency McClatchy DC Bureau according to which the US was considering new regulations to prevent the extension of H-1B visas, the most sought after by Indian IT professionals. 

The USCIS was never considering such a policy change, he said adding that "any suggestion that USCIS changed its position because of pressure is absolutely false." 

The reported move had been opposed by both the industry and several lawmakers. 

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), a trade association of Indian information technology, had warned that any disruptive move on the visa front would be detrimental for both India and the US .

The USCIS has a Congressional mandate to issue 65,000 H- 1B visas in general category and another 20,000 for those applicants having higher education -- masters and above -- from US universities in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. 

The H-1B programme offers temporary US visas that allow companies to hire highly skilled foreign professionals working in areas with shortages of qualified American workers. 

Since taking office last January, the Trump administration has been talking about cracking down on the H- 1B visa scheme. 

During his election campaign, President Trump promised to increase oversight of our H-1B and L-1 visa programmes to prevent its abuse. 

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Har Gobind Khorana: Five things you need to know about the man who helped unlock the secrets of DNA

Google is celebrating what would have been his 96th birthday

The biochemist responsible for discovering an essential function of our DNA — and for constructing the first synthetic gene — is being honoured by Google with a Doodle in many parts of the world.Har Gobind Khorana would be 96-years-old Tuesday, and has been honoured within the scientific community in the past with some of the most prestigious awards available.Here’s what you need to know about Mr Khorana’s life and accomplishments.His passion for science started when he was a young boy in India. Mr Khorana, born in 1922, grew up the youngest of five children with a father who tried to foster a love of learning in his children. He helped them learn to read and write, which wasn’t common in the village where Mr Khorana grew up.

From those humble beginnings, he was boosted by scholarships to receive a very advanced degree. Mr Khorana received his bachelors in organic chemistry in 1948. Throughout his early days in education, he was supported by scholarships that helped him to pursue his passions.

He won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1968. That award was given to Mr Khorana alongside two other researchers. Mr Khorana was based at the University of Wisconsin at the time, but had previously conducted research at universities in Canada, Switzerland, and England.That award was given for discovering that the order of nucleotides in DNA determines which amino acids are built. Nucleotides are the subunits of DNA or RNA, and consist of bases made of nitrogen. There are four types of nucleotides for each DNA, and RNA, an the order in which they are put connected — forming the double helix — is important for determining which types of proteins the cells create. Proteins are responsible for basic form and functions.

He received more awards than just the Nobel Prize. Mr Khorana accumulated a host of awards during his lifetime, and was well respected in his field of research. Among those other awards was the National Medal of Science

Indian man wins dirham 12 million in UAE draw

DUBAI: An Indian man in the UAE has hit a jackpot by winning a whopping dirham 12 million (USD 3.2 million) in the biggest-ever raffle prize money in Abu Dhabi. 

Harikrishnan V Nair, 42, who works as a business development manager for a firm in Dubai and has been living in the UAE with his family since 2002, won the huge amount yesterday in 'Big Ticket' raffle draw. 

"I still cannot believe it. Is it me? Is it really me?" an excited Nair, who is from Kerala, told Khaleej Times. 

He said he had bought the tickets twice before, but had never won. 

Nair said he had always wanted to travel the world with his family and the time for it has come. 

"I think 2018 is the year for that. I will plan a world tour soon," said Nair, father of a seven-year old son. "I would like to plan for my son's education and buy another house in India. I want to take good care of my mother and my wife's mother too, who are in India," he said. 

Charity is also on top of Nair's agenda. 

"I have always wanted to help people in need, and by God's grace I can do it now. That is something I will really do," he said. 

His wife, a logistics support staff, said she could not believe the news. 

"I was dump-founded when I got the call from my husband. First I thought he was playing the same prank I had planned on him," she said. 

"Now that he has won the jackpot, I will let him figure out what he wants to do with it. He is after all a business development manager and would know better how to manage his funds," she said. 

Eight Indians were among 10 people who had won dhirham 1 million (USD 2.7 lakh) each in a mega raffle draw in Abu Dhabi in October last year. In August, an Indian man had won dhirham 5 million (USD 1.3 million) in the draw in the UAE. 

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SNOW BOMB CARPETS UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

PHOTOS: 'Snow bomb' carpets US

  

January 07, 2018 11:58 IST

An intense winter storm has caused electricity outages for tens of thousands of Americans.

Some 65,000 homes and businesses along the US east coast are without power.

The storm is the product of a rapid and rare drop in barometric pressure known as bombogenesis, or bomb cyclone.

Heavy snow has pounded the east coast from Maine as far south as North Carolina, taking out power lines, icing over roads and closing hundreds of schools.

A pedestrian walks through blinding snow across the Brooklyn Bridge during Storm Grayson in New York City. On Saturday, jaw-clenching temperatures throughout the Northeast hit Burlington, Vermont, at minus 1 and a wind chill of minus 30. Both Philadelphia and New York were shivering at 8 degree. Photograph: Darren Ornitz/Reuters

 

Men struggle against wind and snow as they push a shopping cart across 125th street in upper Manhattan in New York. The frosty conditions come in the wake of meteorological phenomenon known as the 'bomb cyclone,' a low-pressure winter storm system that intensifies very rapidly with increasingly powerful winds. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters

A snowplow is seen in a car's side mirror. The storm began two days ago in the Gulf of Mexico and first struck the Florida Panhandle. The storm caused school and business closings, airline and rail service cancellations or reductions and thousands of utilities outages. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters

A nearly empty arrivals area of the Delta Airlines terminal is seen at LaGuardia Airport in New York. Meanwhile in Chicago, airlines were reporting delays of 30 minutes for incoming and outbound flights and more than 230 flights were cancelled. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters

A woman covers her face as she walks though Times Square. At least seven people died in weather-related accidents.Four people were killed in North Carolina and South Carolina after their vehicles ran off snow-covered roads, authorities said. Another fatality was reported near Philadelphia when a car could not stop at the bottom of a steep, snow-covered hill and slammed into a commuter train. A passenger in the vehicle was killed. No one on the train was hurt. In Virginia, a girl was struck by a pickup truck while sledding and a 75-year-old man was hit by a snow plow while clearing business parking lots, authorities said. Both died at hospitals from their injuries, police said. Photograph: Carlo Allegri/Reuters 

A car is seen covered in snow. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Tourists stop to take a photograph with the Charging Bull statue in New York. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

A man uses a snowblower to clear snow from a street during a snowstorm in Port Washington. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

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China to move millions from homes to eradicate poverty:-Why can not Mr.Modi do the same in India?

Jan 07, 2018, 05.01 PM IST

Xi's anti-poverty crusade

Chinese authorities will move millions of people from their homes across the country as part of President Xi Jinpings goal of eradicating extreme poverty by 2020, a media report said.

Over the next three years, Xi's anti-poverty crusade, which the President has declared one of the key themes of his second five-year term, will see marginalised rural dwellers resettled in new, government-subsidised homes, the Guardian report said.

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9.81 million people are set to be moved between 2016 and 2020

A total of 9.81 million people are set to be moved between 2016 and 2020 across the 22 provinces.

Some will be being moved to distant urban housing estates, others just to slightly less remote or unforgiving rural locations, the report said.

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Help 30 million people rise

By 2020, Beijing hopes to have helped 30 million people rise above its official poverty line.

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​China's economic ascent

China's economic ascent has helped hundreds of millions lift themselves from poverty since the 1980s but in 2016 at least 5.7 per cent of its rural population still lived in poverty, according to a latest UN report, with that number rising to as much as 10 per cent in some western regions and 12 per cent among some ethnic minorities.

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Guizhou, China's most deprived province

Last year, Guizhou, China's most deprived province, was aiming to move about 750,000 people to about 3,600 new locations.

More than 1 million people were set to be moved in Gansu, Sichuan and Guangxi while Yunnan province hoped to move about 677,000 people to nearly 2,800 new villages.

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Rural hardship continued to shape Xi's political priorities

Mark Wang, a University of Melbourne scholar who studies Beijing's use of resettlements to fight poverty, attributed Xi's focus on the issue partly to the seven years he spent in the countryside during Mao's Cultural Revolution, the Guardian reported.

Wang claimed those years of rural hardship continued to shape Xi's political priorities: "From the bottom of his heart he knows the Chinese farmers Â... He understands what they want... He even knows the dirty language the people use in the fields when they are farming."